In Britain, the end of an era was cast into the history books this week. The multinational company Brother ceremoniously retired the production line of its old-school typewriters, which had been a staple of the factory for nearly 30 years. The final unit to makes its way down the line was instantly sent off to the place it belongs — a museum. It will go on display at the Science Museum in London, to be exact.

Brother had been the last manufacturer with a typewriter plant in the UK. However, the company does still produce the devices at a facility in the Far East. And believe it or not, Brother said it still does a reasonable amount of typewriter sales in the US, particularly to government offices which, as everyone knows, still like to function about 50 years in the past.

The specific unit that rolled out of the UK plant is a model that Brother has been making since 1985, but sales of typewriters in the UK date back more than 100 years. The very first mass produced typewriters hit the market in the 1870s in the US. Of course, technology changes and this is a symbolic representation of that fact.

The UK Brother facility will remain intact, although likely with a smaller staff. It will transition to produce other Brother products like high-capacity printers. Ironically, those are also on their way to becoming obsolete.

Although the company’s focus on printers, fax machines, and label makers doesn’t sound like good business, it has managed to remain pretty stable. In its most recent fiscal year, it had more than $300 million in sales.